Eventim’s 2013 Ones to Watch

As one year comes to an end and another begins, the music world explodes with ‘Ones to Watch’ lists and ‘Sound of…’ predictions. Here at Eventim we thought we’d join in by highlighting a few shows featuring artists we think have a bright 2013 in store…

London R&B duo AlunaGeorge are Aluna Francis and George Reid. The two met over MySpace through a shared love for Radiohead and Michael Jackson. However, the music they produce bares little resemblance to the sound of these two music giants; it’s a brilliant blend of electro-pop and R&B with nods to the 90s.

Having released their debut EP ‘You Know You Like It’ in June, AlunaGeorge have been described as “thrillingly futuristic” by The Guardian, while Pitchfork branded them as “lustrous“. The single ‘Your Drums, Your Love’ received regular radio play and today they have been announced as the runners-up in the illustrious BBC Sound of 2013 poll, which tipped the likes of Adele, Jessie J and 50 Cent for greatness.

According to their Facebook bio, the only thing Fidlar “really care about is skateboarding; trivial things like doing their homework and making the grade in school have little meaning to them...” It’s a philosophy that appears to ring true in their music, but don’t think it means they don’t work hard – the band have a D.I.Y. belief when it comes to producing music.

The L.A. four-piece have been tipped as a ‘Band to Watch’ by Rolling Stone magazine and their lo-fi punk sound has been dominating the blogwaves for some time now, being compared to the likes of the Hives and the Clash. They are over from the States in February, playing Birmingham, Oxford and Brighton – buy Fidlar tickets on Eventim.

I first heard Imagine Dragons‘ ‘Look How Far We’ve Come’ on a playlist released in August 2011 and it’s feel-good sound had me turning it up loud and listening to it a lot…

The Las Vegas quartet had a busy 2012: they were nominated for an MTV Music Video Award, performed live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and even had the honour of being covered on Glee. Their accessible brand of pop-rock is gaining deserved recognition then; indeed their London show was upgraded to the HMV Forum. Don’t miss out on catching this brilliant band when they come to Birmingham in April – buy Imagine Dragons tickets on Eventim.

Hot on the heels of bands like The Maccabees, Little Comets offer an upbeat, glistening style of indie-pop, described as ‘kitchen-sink’, perfect to brighten up the dark January evenings.

Since 2009 the Jarrow and Newcastle-based trio have been on the radar of important radio DJs such as Huw Stephens and Zane Lowe, gaining air-time on their respective shows. Intricate harmony and catchy choruses blend together with warm, clean guitar lines to create a positively happy listening experience that will translate perfectly to the live stage. With shows in London and Wolverhampton in April, it’d be silly to miss this ever-exciting prospect in a year that should signal big things for them – buy Little Comets tickets on Eventim.

Benicassim is consistently one of the best festivals showcasing exciting new music and 2013 is no exception. Playing alongside fellow-ones to watch contenders, Echo Lake and Splashh, as well as Azealia Banks and Jake Bugg, who are bound to continue their rise to fame this year, Palma Violets feature at this years award-winning foreign festival.

Their scuzzy punk sound is really beginning to cement itself into the UK music scene, as everyone continues to search for the a guitar band to fill the void. A real NME favourite, nominated in the BBC Sound of 2013 poll, and with ‘Best of Friends’ gaining over 300,000 hits on YouTube there can be little doubt that this year will be massively successful for the London garage-rockers.

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